Why It’s Important to Call a Lawyer Immediately After an 18-Wheeler Accident

18-wheeler accidents happen far too often, and when they do – when a semi-truck collides with another vehicle, usually a much smaller one – the results are often disastrous for the other driver.

Some of the most serious personal injury cases we have ever tried have been 18-wheeler accidents. The amount of devastation these big trucks can cause is horrifying. There’s a reason why people call semi-trucks the most dangerous things on the road; they’re just so much bigger and more powerful than even the biggest SUVs.

To safeguard us against reckless truck drivers, the federal government has adopted regulations controlling how much driving a driver can do during a given time. Trucking companies are required to keep detailed logs, limit the driving hours each driver pulls, test regularly for drugs, and do other things that hopefully cut down on accidents and enhance commuter safety.

But trucking companies, their drivers, and their insurance companies don’t always play by the rules. In today’s competitive trucking industry, there are incentives to cheat, skimp on the rules, and get around the regulations.

And when an accident happens, there are even bigger incentives to play dirty by withholding, altering, or destroying evidence.

For those reasons and more, it’s imperative that victims call truck accident lawyers as soon as possible following a wreck.

Safeguarding Evidence for Your Case

Your case is going to require a lot of evidence before we can win.

Unfortunately, much of that evidence is in the hands of the trucking company – and they don’t want us to see it. There have been plenty of times when trucking companies have taken drastic steps to obscure evidence of their complicity in the accident, such as:

Forging entries in the driver’s logs

Quickly making repairs to the tractor-trailer before it can be inspected

Losing key documentation

You can imagine how important it is to make sure these things don’t happen. That’s why it’s important to call a trucking attorney quickly – so that they can help you safeguard evidence, get your side of the story, and fight off insurance companies looking for quick and insufficient settlement.

What Happens Next?

When you contact an attorney about an 18-wheeler accident case, you’ll get a chance to tell your story to the attorney’s team and explain what happened. They’ll ask you questions about the accident; all you have to do is do your best to recall. If you have any pictures or video evidence, you can mention that.

In your free consultation, the attorney will learn more about you and your case. They’ll give you a good idea of the chances your case has at being settled or resolved at trial, and may offer to represent you. Should they offer, and should you accept, they’ll begin the process of collecting information – medical records, accident reports, eyewitness statements, and especially the driving logs from the trucking company.

The more information the attorney has, the more likely he or she will be able to help you. We’ll take an aggressive approach to contacting the trucking company, its attorneys, and its insurance provider as needed throughout the process. We’ll also keep you fully aware of what’s going on at all times and keep up clear lines of communication so that you can know what’s happening.

At some point, after the case has been prepared, it’ll be filed in the appropriate courts. Then, we’ll begin the litigation process that will ideally end in a settlement or a verdict in your favor.

The path can be long and tiresome, but justice is worth the toil.

Call an 18-Wheeler Lawyer ASAP

The big lesson is this: to protect your legal rights, call an 18-wheeler attorney as soon as possible after the accident.

Time wasted or delayed increases the chances that the other side will do what it has to do in order to deny your claim and keep you from receiving the compensation needed to get your life back on track. The wheels of justice need to start turning quickly in order to protect you and your loved ones.

Contact the trucking accident lawyers at Wettermark Keith for a free consultation about your case. The faster you act, the better your chances will be at receiving a just and fair settlement or verdict.